Chinese president welcomed in Senegal

DAKAR — China’s President Xi Jinping arrived in Senegal yesterday for a two-day visit to sign bilateral deals, the first leg of an Africa tour at a time when the continent is awash with cheap Chinese loans in exchange for minerals and construction contracts.

Reuters

China now does more trade with Africa than any other nation and Xi’s trip — his second abroad since starting a second term under new rules that abolished term limits — will also take him to Rwanda and South Africa, for a summit of BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

China’s consistent overtures to Africa contrast sharply with the United States, whose President Donald Trump has shown little interest in the continent.

He will meet Senegalese President Macky Sall for the third time and sign several deals. China’s ambassador to Senegal Zhang Xun was quoted in the local press in March as saying China had invested $100 million in Senegal in 2017.
Xi was greeted by a brass band and hundreds of people waving Chinese and Senegalese flags and wearing T-shirts with the two leaders’ faces on.

Africa is in the midst of a boom in infrastructure projects, managed and cheaply financed by China and part of Xi’s “Belt and Road” initiative to build a transport network connecting China by land and sea to Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.